In autumn 1955 Komenda’s bodywork variations for the Porsche 356 A superseded the 356.  Similarly, under Komenda’s overall control, the 356 B emerged and was presented in a new and unusual way at the 1959 Frankfurt Motor Show. 

Preliminary work for the Porsche 911 was already underway in the successive technical Erwin Komenda Porsche Designer - 911 engprogrammes T7 (1959) and T8 (1961). 

The Porsche 911 first appeared while the company was experiencing a period of reorientation. There was a change of generation within Porsche’s management team.  Professor Porsche’s grown-up grandson joined the company, took charge of managing developments projects and occupied  leading positions in the company.  Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was known affectionately in family circles as ‘Butzi’ and was the third male descendant of the Porsche family to bear the name Ferdinand.  One thing which he did on assuming management of the company was to found a new design studio.  In 1963, Hans-Peter Porsche joined the company and became its production manger in 1965.  Ferdinand Piech, son of Louise Porsche and Dr Anton Piech, had gained his engineering diploma at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) in Zurich and began his professional career at Porsche in 1965 as the manger of the testing and development department.  

So the changes to the background of long-established structures and hierarchies effected the complexity of the history of the origins of the Porsche 911.  The subject of the technical evolution of Porsche’s most successful model, which could truly fill a book of its own, inevitably produced an exciting psychological agenda among the differing characters of the engineers involved. 

The final years of Komenda’s life were marked by conflicts with members of the Porsche family within the company over the development of the Porsche 904 and 911.  To Komenda’s great pleasure the 911 was built corresponding closely with his design and he was delighted further when the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupé, the first car with synthetic resin bodywork, realised his countless patent applications for synthetic resin structures. 

Then the career ended suddenly - last patent applications were made in 1965. The enigneer of Porsche form and function died on August 22nd, 1966. He left us over 100 Porsche patent applications -  timeless beautiful cars  confirm his progressive work.